Thursday, July 16, 2015

Minimum Wage Impact: Garment Industry Eyes Move Out of L.A. City Limits

Manufacturers and designers now fear “Made in L.A.” is under threat from a new law set to boost the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, writes WSJ.

The city’s wage law will raise the base pay by 50% over five years.

Reports WSJ:
Contract apparel manufacturer 5 Thread Factory, whose garments include shirts for men and women, mountain-bike gear and other products, has outgrown its two floors of space in a gritty downtown neighborhood just three years after it opened. But with wages rising, CEO Brian Zuckerman said he won’t sign another lease in the city.

“The simple answer to this whole conversation is we’re moving out of the city of L.A.,” he said.
 -RW

1 comment:

  1. There is a perverse sense to that outcome. The reason manufacturing operations producing low return on square footage remain within city limits anyway is city mandating zoning restrictions that artificially subsidize their presence. Otherwise those manufacturing districts would have left town long ago following the economic incentives of optimal land usage.

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